Heights Terrace Video
South Poplar Street - Hazleton, PA
When I was a teenager and in my early 20's, I rented movies and wrestling tapes from Heights Terrace Video all the time. It's a bit out of the way from my house, so it's been a long time since I've been back. I pass by it every time I go to my dad's house, but those usually aren't times when I'm looking to bring home a movie, but I knew they were still in business. Dinosaur Dracula visited them a few years ago, and I'd often see people going in and out. Every time I drove past, I'd see that the lights were on and I'd think to myself "I've got to stop in one of these days".
I felt a twinge of guilt last time I drove to my dad's house and saw that the sign was gone.
When I got home, I did a little bit of searching and found that Heights Terrace Video closed for business as a video rental shop after 35 years at the end of June 2021. They kept chugging along through the 2020 lockdown by offering curbside service, but a variety of factors finally led them to shut their doors. You can probably guess most of the reasons, but from Bryan's post, it seems like this decision was mostly due to the fact that the landlord had put the building up for sale.
The store remained open to sell off their stock through August 1st. By the time they took the sign off of the building, the place was empty, so I didn't get to visit my old neighborhood rental shop for one last time before it looked like this.
Man, another piece of the world I always knew is gone forever. That's how it happens. Bit by bit, the world you grew up in begins to fade away.. a store closure, a band's farewell tour, the cancellation of a favorite tv show, or the death of a celebrity. Sometimes, it's a major loss, like the day that a loved one passes away. Other times, it's less serious, like a restaurant where you used to always stop for lunch has gone dark. The things we take for granted as always existing as a part of our world disappear piece by piece, and the world turns from the place where you grew up to the place where children who are 30 or 40 years younger than you will grow up. My cherished memories become the "when I was your age, candy bars were a nickel" stories that my grandfather once told me about the world that he once knew.
Anyone reading this either knows what I'm talking about, or they will know one day. Either way, do yourself a favor and take the time to enjoy the people, the places, and the things in your life that bring you happiness. Don't assume that they will always be there later on. They won't... because you don't own this world that you're living in. You're only renting it for a little while.
